More IMs In The Making

It has been a great outing for many Malaysian Chess players of late. Subsequent to our very own numero uno IM Yeoh Li Tian bagging our historic first ever chess Gold at the recent SEA GAMES in the Philippines, we also have a few other accolades to add to the list

The first celebration came from Down Under with FM Lim Zhuo Ren finally securing his 3rd IM norm which earns him the opportunity of becoming Malaysia’s 9th International Masters title holder. As per FIDE ruling, FM Zhuo Ren final hurdle is to elevate his rating to surpass the minimum FIDE 2400 rating requirement before he can proudly wear the IM title for keeps. FM Zhuo Ren final norm came after his impressive 7 points score out of 9 games at the recently concluded 2019 Lidums Australian Young Masters tournament held in Adelaide, Australia from the 7th to the 13th of December 2019.

At the event, FM Lim Zhuo Ren came in second behind the formidable GM Bobby Cheng who scored a perfect 9 points to earn himself the top spot and the champions title. FM Zhuo Ren only losing game was at the hands of the eventual champion but on his way to complete the historic run, he had scored two critical points by winning his games against Norwegian GM Urkedal Frode Olav Olsen (2545) and IM Mikalsen Erlend (2361).

The second good news came from our very own 11th Penang Heritage City International Chess Open 2019 held in Red Rock Hotel Penang which had concluded over the recent weekend. In the Open category, local Penangite FM Wong Yinn Long secured his first ever IM norm after an inspiring run of earning 6.5 points out of 9 rounds to finish in 6th placing overall – the highest achieving Malaysians within the top 20 finishers. His only loss came in the 8th Round when he was outplayed by GM Mirzoev Azer but his glory came in the 6th round when he convincingly defeated GM Sivuk Vitaly who had recently won the 6th Johor Open Chess Championship a week earlier. In the event, FM Yinn Long scored 5 winning games and 3 drawn games to achieve his initial IM norm.

The Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF) wishes to congratulate both FM Lim Zhuo Ren and FM Wong Yinn Long for their achievements and hope that many more Malaysian will shine at local and international events in our journey to improve chess as a respected sport in the country.